Slingshot

It’s interesting to see how downloadable content gets added to a game. Sometimes the entry point to the postlaunch missions are transparent. They’re shown locked away behind closed doors in the game world. Other times, they arrive in a subtle way via an odd email that leads to an investigation and a grand adventure.

With XCOM: Enemy Uknown and its Slingshot DLC, players will have to start from scratch. But that’s not a bad thing when it comes to XCOM, a strategy game where every choice creates a different experience and a new avenue for that just-one-more-turn addiction. The DLC, which will run you $6.99 on PSN/PC and 560 Microsoft Points on Xbox Live, offers players three new story-driven missions focused on a new character named Shaojie Zhang.

Once you start over, the content pops up as council missions. Players can choose to do them at any time, but it’s best to tackle them early because of the rewards involved. In the first mission, players are actually sent to rescue Zhang who is carrying some mysterious gear.